Right, most of the details for the trip have been worked out, but I’m still trying to book a couple of hotels. Worryingly, it’s for the first two nights of my accommodation. I don’t think Kobe on a Thursday will be too much of a problem, but finding a place for Kyoto on a Friday is becoming an issue. Everywhere I seem to find is fully booked! Damn Japanese school trips.

 Planning is exhausting in itself

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It’s almost four years to the day that I first visited Japan. Having powered up my Japanophilia and studied the language for three years, I’m finally making a return visit next month.

It was a pretty last minute decision – I rarely make such travel plans on such short notice. The primary reason is that my boss is to be on maternity leave very soon, which leaves me with a heavy degree of responsibility over the next nine months. With such a small office staff, I can’t justify taking a couple of weeks off in the autumn as I had planned. So it’s now or next year.

The good thing about Japan is I’ve already been there, so I don’t mind going with a little less preparation time. And I did promise myself a self-indulgent holiday after the stressful ‘breaks’ of last year.

The flight cost pretty much what I would have expected any other time of the year. The timing also means I’ll catch hanami, so hopefully I’ll get to see stuff like this. I’m planning to spend more time in Tokyo, though I’ll probably pop over to Kansai to briefly visit a few friends. I have a ticket to the Ghibli museum and a daytrip planned to Kamakura thus far. And shopping. Lots of shopping.